


Monster College

by Blocky (orphan_account)



Category: Monsters University (2013)
Genre: College, Gen, University, cram, test
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-09
Updated: 2013-07-09
Packaged: 2017-12-18 06:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/876661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Blocky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What was intended to be a series of short stories following Sulley and Mike on their adventures through college - as if they were never kicked out - but ended up being a one-off. Basic College AU stuff, with the exception being that College is canon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Monster College

The professor was going on about something to do with the history of Scarers and honestly, Sulley couldn't have cared less about it. Not that he didn't think it was important, he was just so far from caring about when and where the first Door was constructed when the hot sunny day was just outside the lecture hall's windows... although, pestering Mike was enough to keep him entertained in the meantime.

"Hey Mike," he whispered.

"What?" Mike answered from the chair beside him, keeping his voice down. "Professor Knight's still talk-"

"What do you think Knight does when he's not teaching us?" Sulley interrupted.

"What? How should I know?"

"Do you think he looks through the yearbook and draws on the students he doesn't like?"

"If you keep talking, you'll BE one of the students he doesn't like!"

"What if he plays pranks on the other teachers?"

"Sulley, I'm trying to take notes!"

"What if he plays pranks on the Dean!"

"I doubt our teacher is as IMMATURE as to resort to-"

"Wazowski, Sullivan," Professor Knight called from the chalkboard. Sulley and Mike immediately straightened their backs in their chairs, tensing up.

Knight sighed. "Would one of you care to repeat what I just told the class?"

Sulley nearly choked. "Uh-"

"You were talking about the test coming up," Mike answered.

Knight frowned. "Yes. Yes I was."

"How did you know that?" Sulley whispered from the side of his mouth.

"Unlike you," Mike answered, "I LISTEN."

"Even when we're talking?"

"ESPECIALLY when we're talking."

"To reiterate," Knight continued, "the test that was postponed from last week will be this Friday, at eight a.m."

The class collectively moaned at the notion of waking up that early.

"No complaining, you've known about this for a week now. Go on, class dismissed, take your assignments from the table and get out of here."

"Like that softens the blow," a student muttered to Sulley as they all rose to leave the building.

Mike rushed out from his chair and made it to the front table in a matter of seconds. He rifled through the papers to find his results and tore out of the building to his other class.

"Seeya Sulley," he called as he passed him. Sulley rolled his eyes. Mike wasn't even late, he was just that committed to being on time. As if the trip to the next building took more than thirty seconds, Sulley thought. He class doesn't start for another ten minutes.

Sulley was one of the last to reach the table, even bothering to pass out several other students' results before his own. The moment he saw his name, however, he stepped back and left the others to their searching.

"Let's see here," he mumbled to himself as he looked over the front page. His eyes stopped on a red mark that said '24%' and a small drawing of an unhappy face. "Huh?" he exclaimed.

"Find your assignment, Sullivan?" Knight asked, walking past, not even glancing at him.

"Professor," Sulley called, looking back between Knight and the page in his hand. "Is this right? Is this correct?"

"Not at all, Sullivan," Knight answered, looking at the page Sulley had forced into his face. "If you'll look closer, you'll see it's 76% INcorrect."

"What?"

"Mr Sullivan, you failed," Knight said. "I suggest you study harder next time and include some actual FACTS in your next report."

"But Professor Knight," Sulley pleaded, following him down the stairs, "I can't have done THIS badly, right?"

"Study harder, Sullivan," Knight repeated, as Sulley stopped following him and stared from the foot of the steps. "Study harder."

* * *

The dorm door slammed open, revealing Mike standing proudly in the doorway.

"Guess who got PERFECT scores in BOTH his classes today?" he bragged, holding up two sheets of paper.

Sulley responded with a sluggish gurgling sound. Mike saw him slumped over his desk, his eyes shut and his arms drooping at either side of his chair.

Mike waited a moment before reacting. "Are you just pretending to be a comatose wreck or do I have to start panicking?"

"I'm not comatose," Sulley said, pushing himself back into a seated position and picking up the book he'd been lying on. "I'm studying. No difference, really."

Mike let out a laugh and walked into the room, shutting the door behind him. "That's a good one," he said, tossing his backpack towards the wall. "What're you really doin'?"

Sulley watched Mike sit on the bed and look up at him. Sulley tried to think of a comeback but decided staring at him with an annoyed expression would work better.

"What, you're serious?" Mike asked. When Sulley didn't respond, he leapt off the bed with another laugh. "That's GREAT, buddy!" he said, patting Sulley on the back with unnecessary gusto and speaking with that distinct know-it-all touch in his voice he'd become all but famous for. "I'm SO proud you've finally decided to finally involve yourself in the academic side of college life!"

"Yeah," Sulley grunted. "Involving is great."

"So what changed your mind?" Mike asked. "Were you getting tired of being stuck in my shadow?"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Sulley said, raising one hand and picking up the book again with the other. "I couldn't even FIT in your shadow. I'm only doing this because I failed the assignment and I need to ace the test on Friday to bring my grade up."

Mike froze in place for a few seconds. "... you FAILED?" he exclaimed, incredulously. "Oh my GOSH, what is that even LIKE?"

"Okay," Sulley said, closing the book with enough force to shock Mike into listening to him. "This is hard enough without you making it harder!"

"Well, sorry," Mike said, moving to Sulley's other side to look through the desk. "Look, maybe it isn't so bad. Where are your past results, maybe your average isn't as damaged as you think."

"I already looked into that," Sulley said, rubbing his face with his hands, as if remembering a torturous event. "If I get more than at 50 I can still pass."

"Oh!" Mike sighed in relief. "A 50? That's fine! The test is on basic Scare techniques, you did better than that on the first assignment!"

"Yeah, but I don't need a pass," Sulley groaned. "I need a GOOD pass."

"What do you mean?"

Sulley sighed. "I can't keep just getting by just passing everything. I'm a Sullivan, I'm meant to be better than this. People are starting to talk, y'know."

"... oh," Mike said.

Sulley leant back in his chair. "My family's already disappointed in me," he said, sounding dejected. "I can't let them think I'm just a deadbeat."

Mike watched Sulley shake himself more awake and open the book again. "Well, good luck, I guess," he said, walking back to his bed.

"I'll give you one piece of advice," he said, picking up a book of his own. "One question at a time."

"That's what everyone says," Sulley said, smiling a little.

"But it's true!" Mike retorted. "If you look at a bunch of questions all at once, you get all overwhelmed and crazy, but if you remember to take everything one question at a time, it gets that much easier."

"Thanks," Sulley said, "But I don't think I can even ANSWER one question, let alone one at a TIME." He turned the book upside-down as if it were suddenly going to make sense to him. "I don't understand, how do YOU do it?"

"How do I do it?"

"Yeah, you're always getting 'hundreds and stuff, how do you get so smart?"

"Hah, well," Mike scoffed, allowing his ego to show. "That's just because I don't ONLY study, I know HOW to study."

"HOW to study?" Sulley repeated, turning to direct his disbelieving expression at Mike. "How hard can it be?"

"How easy are YOU finding it?"

Sulley paused, looked at the book, then back to Mike.

"Teach me."

"What?" Mike asked, shocked.

"You know how to study? Teach me how to study! I gotta get a good result on this test, Mike, I gotta get my grade up enough to-"

"Okay, okay!" Mike said, motioning for Sulley to calm down. He'd started to plead. "I'll do it."

Sulley let out a groan of relief. "Thanks, Mike, I owe 'ya."

"No problem, buddy," Mike said. "Whaddaya got tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's Thursday," Sulley replied, "I'm clear."

"Then tomorrow, James P. Sullivan," Mike proclaimed, standing in front of him, "you get SCHOOLED in SCHOOL!"

"... that was bad," Sulley mumbled.

"Don't mouth off to your teacher."

* * *

The next day, Mike had left Sulley at a table in the middle of the library. He was occupying himself with looking around, re-familiarizing himself with the enormous room, since it had been quite a long time since he was last in it. He had been very preoccupied at the time, too.

Mike suddenly appeared, carrying books in several stacks only slightly larger than he was, dropping them silently onto the table with skill only obtained through repetitive practice.

"Alright," he said in a whisper that was almost lost through the book wall he'd built. "First things first, the LIBRARY."

"I don't like this already," Sulley whispered back, giving the books a distasteful glare.

"I take that back," Mike said. "First things first, lose the attitude."

Sulley rolled his eyes.

"And don't give me any of THAT, mister!"

Sulley straightened up as if being called on by a professor. How did Mike see him through the-

"NOW," Mike said, "to business." He slid a book titled 'A Base in Basics: Effective Child Scaring' towards Sulley and picked up a second copy from the top of his pile. Mike opened his copy and started to read.

"Now," he told Sulley, "reading isn't just about looking at words and moving on. No, you gotta look at whole SENTENCES, really LOOK at 'em, make sure you've got each one in your head and you understand exactly what-"

Mike was interrupted by a light snore.

He looked out from the side of his fort and saw Sulley lying face-down on the table, his eyes closed and his mouth hanging open. He frowned and tapped the top of Sulley's head, which woke him up instantly.

Sulley was suddenly bolt-upright, having just drawn breath extremely deeply. Once he'd realized where he was, he stifled himself to avoid attention from any librarians nearby. He looked down at Mike, who was giving him a deadpan expression.

"Problem?"

"Sorry," Sulley said, "Dozed off. Didn't get much sleep last night."

"Not much sleep last night?" Mike asked. "What were you DOING last night?"

Sulley laughed. "The Thetas had a party goin' on."

"A party?" Mike asked, annoyed.

"Hah, yeah, they were celebratin' somebody coming back to the hospital. Or goin' to the hospital, I forget."

"Okay, that's gotta stop," Mike said. "No more parties."

Sulley looked like Mike had just cancelled his own birthday. "What?" he hissed.

"Every minute spent not reading is taking away from potential time to study, now until you ace that test you're not goin' to ANY parties."

Sulley slumped back in his chair like a teenager having a tantrum, his arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "Fine."

Mike squinted in what looked to be an attempt at an intimidating look and sat back behind his wall.

"Now where was I... right, you gotta pay attention to what you're reading, otherwise there's no point even reading it. One thing I do is ask myself if something can be reworded into the form of a question with an answer, and if it can, then you either mark it or write it do-"

Mike stopped and looked over the wall, finding an empty chair where Sulley used to be. He scanned the area and saw Sulley talking to somebody near a bookshelf, whispering avidly about something. When he'd finished, Sulley shook his hand and waved goodbye, turning around to walk back.

He stopped walking back when he saw Mike looking at him with a glare that could have shrivelled roses.

"This isn't working," Mike whispered. Of course, Sulley didn't hear him at all from where he was.

* * *

Back at the dorm, Mike was trying a different tactic. Instead of making Sulley do any work, which was apparently a waste of time, he was trying to read aloud to him to see if he soaked up information that way better than reading.

"Children afraid of lightning are obviously much more susceptible to sudden, loud noises, so-"

Meanwhile, Sulley was staring at Mike through half-closed eyes, wondering if he could convince himself Mike's blurry form was actually a beach ball. Mike was so engrossed in his dictation that he hadn't noticed this, and had thus let Sulley continue his game without checking if he was taking anything he was saying in.

Finally, Mike finished the chapter, and the sound of him closing the book was enough to snap Sulley out of his stupor.

"So that's one chapter," Mike said. Sulley screamed internally. "Now," Mike continued, holding the book out to him, "you go."

"Uh..." Sulley said, not sure of what to do.

"Come on, Sulley," Mike complained, "We said this when we started, I read aloud to you, then YOU read aloud to ME."

Mike continued to explain how such a routine 'strengthened the knowledge through repetition' while Sulley started to wonder whether even attending university was worth what he was going through.

"Okay?" Mike finished, holding out the book. Sulley reached out and took it, holding it as if it were diseased, and opened it to the first chapter.

"Chapter One," he began.

"We read Chapter Three," Mike reminded him.

"Oh, right," Sulley remembered. 'Yes, two chapters less,' he thought to himself.

"Chapter Three. Routines and techniques for scaring are-"

"Stop, stop, stop," Mike said.

"What," Sulley accused, "I was reading it!"

"You were reading it AWFULLY," Mike told him. "I told you already, you gotta FEEL the words!"

"Why do I have to FEEL the words? It's a BOOK, Mike!"

"If you FEEL the words, then you REMEMBER the words! You don't forget a sentence you read out in a funny accent anytime soon, do ya'?"

"I'm not reading in a funny accent."

"Then FEEL the WORDS!"

Sulley looked back down to the book and gathered his remaining dignity. "Chapter Three," he declared. "Routines and techniques for scaring are differently suited to children with different-"

"Try emphasizing key words," Mike added.

Sulley lowered the book. "You know, Mike, we've been sitting here for a long time now, I really gotta use the bathroom."

"No breaks when your future's on the line."

"I'm pretty sure my future can handle this one, it's a little urgent."

"Hmm," Mike thought, rubbing his chin and inspecting Sulley's current pose, certainly indicating the need for a bathroom. "Yeah, okay, you earned it."

"Thanks, Mike," Sulley said, dropping the book in Mike's lap as he strode past him, out of the room.

"You got five minutes!" Mike called after him as the door closed.

* * *

Half an hour later, Mike swung the door of a nearby fraternity house open, flashing his death glare once again. He strode past the loud students and tried to tune out the loud music blaring from all directions at once and made for a particular room on the ground floor, which he found in seven seconds flat.

As he approached the room, he heard a group of party-goers chanting somebody's name. He entered and looked out on the scene before him.

"Su-lley, Su-lley," the students chanted, watching Sulley throw a table-tennis ball onto a table, bouncing it onto a tic-tac-toe board drawn on another student's chest. The ball stuck where it landed, which was clearly a good location, since the entire room screamed with joy and congratulation, including Sulley.

"OH YEAH," he bellowed, raising his hands in victory. He walked around the table, delivering high-fives to anyone with a hand to spare. When he turned around one last time to address the rest of the party, he caught sight of Mike's frowning face and stalled, freezing in a state of shock.

"What are you DOING, SULLEY?" Mike yelled angrily over the music.

"How did you FIND me?" Sulley yelled back, worried.

"That's not important right now," Mike continued, stepping closer to Sulley so he didn't have to shout as loud. "I said you had five minutes for a BATHROOM break, not HALF AN HOUR for a PARTY break!"

"I just... got tired, that's all!"

"I thought you wanted this, Sulley! You said you wanted to make your family proud!"

"I do! I just... all this studying stuff, it's too much too fast. I think I'm just gonna take what I get and deal with whatever comes with it."

Mike was about to continue berating him, but at the last minute, changed his mind and threw his hands in the air. "You know what, FORGET it," he decided. "I tried, you didn't, that's all I could have hoped for."

Sulley watched as Mike turned to leave. "Mike," he began, but Mike cut him off with one last addition.

"You know what, Sulley? There's no way you can be the best at something if you don't want to be."

Sulley hesitated. "But I DO!"

Mike looked up at him incredulously. "Look at where you are, right now."

Sulley didn't need to. He already knew where he was: in the middle of a party, postponing studying for an important test for as long as possible.

Mike, ironically satisfied, shook his head and turned away again. This time, he didn't stop, or look back. He just kept going until he'd left the party. Sulley looked on after him, suddenly in no mood to continue.

* * *

Later, Mike was sleeping on the bottom bunk back at the dorm room. He'd decided he was too angry to study and had just gone to sleep instead. This was very short-lived, however, as in no time he was being woken up quite violently.

"Wake up," Sulley had called, pushing Mike into the wall. Mike woke up and immediately yelled in panic, jumping and hitting his face on the bottom of the top bunk.

"Sulley!?" Mike exclaimed, but Sulley was too busy talking.

"Mike, I can't do it, I can't go to the test tomorrow if I'm not gonna get a good enough grade. You HAVE to help me!"

Mike looked him up and down for a sign of jest or insincerity. "You really want me to help you study?"

"Mike, I have to do this, and I can't do it without you."

Sulley gave a weak smile. Mike frowned for a moment, but couldn't help but return it. "Alright," he said. "You agree to do things MY way?"

"Yes," Sulley agreed, nodding vigorously.

"Even if you think it's dumb?"

"Of course," Sulley nodded.

"Even if you have to risk your dignity?"

"... uh-"

"I'm just kiddin'," Mike laughed, getting out of bed, "now let's get to it."

"Okay," Sulley said. "So what's first? Reading aloud? Highlighting sentences?"

"Are you kidding?" Mike asked. "The test is in six hours, at this point all you can do is READ."

"What!?" Sulley cried. "After all that, I just have to READ again?"

"Hey, if you think it'll help, try going over it with a funny accent."

Sulley and Mike read for hours. Every time Sulley started to fall asleep, Mike would hit him in the back of his head with a different book. Every time Sulley didn't understand something, he read it back to Mike, who'd read it back to him again before explaining what it meant. Every now and then, Sulley read out a line in a ridiculous accent. When Mike felt they needed to start making more progress, he started quizzing him.

"Technique related to arachnophobia?" he'd ask randomly.

"Horffstader Screech," Sulley answered. Mike would then hit him in the back of the head for his wrong answer and tell him the correct one, "Mayweather Pounce".

"Technique related to fear of lightning?"

"Yellow Snake Hiss!"

Book. "Wrong, Crashing Roar. Technique related to fear of flying?"

"Over-Under Bowler?"

Book. "Wrong, Rumbling Leap."

Sulley slammed his head into the table. "This is HOPELESS," he moaned. "None of this is sticking."

"Don't keep that attitude," Mike said, hitting him again. "Come on! Fear of dogs?"

"Tumble-Dry."

Book. "Wrong, Sudden Trip. Fear of heights?"

"Donnie Von Yeller."

Book. "Wrong, Donnie Von..."

Mike paused. "Wait. That's right!"

Sulley raised his head. "That's right?"

"That's right!" Mike yelled. "Sulley, you got it!"

"Ask me another one!" Sulley responded, suddenly gleeful.

"Fear of needles!"

"Internal Retterman!"

"Correct! Fear of clowns?"

"Jack Spinner!"

Book. "Wrong, Grin Barer. Baby steps, I guess."

This continued through the night, long beyond the rest of the dorm had fallen asleep. Eventually, even Mike started to lose steam, and finally, just hours from when the test was to take place, they called it a night.

* * *

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. BEEP, BEEP, B-CRASH.

Sulley retracted his fist, not bothering to shake any pieces of alarm clock off of it.

"Thanks," Mike moaned.

"Don't mention it," Sulley grumbled back.

Several seconds passed before Mike suddenly leapt out of bed. "THE TEST!" he yelled

"AAGH!" Sulley yelled, and leapt out of bed, too. Having slept on the top bunk, this caused a much bigger reaction, especially since he'd landed on Mike.

"We gotta get ready!" Mike yelled, jumping out from under his roommate as if it hadn't happened.

The two of them went about sluggishly getting their things together, bumping into furniture and each other.

"Mike," Sulley mumbled, "I'm so tired. This isn't gonna work."

When Mike gave no reply, Sulley looked around the dorm. Apparently he hadn't noticed that Mike had left the room.

"Mike?" Sulley asked. As if on cue, Mike burst through the door, more lively than ever before.

"Mike," Sulley repeated, noticing him. "How am I gonna get through this test, I can't even keep my eyes open."

"Not for long you can't," Mike announced, forcing two paper cups into Sulley's hands.

"What's this?" Sulley asked, looking at them confusedly.

"Coffee," Mike answered, the way a triumphant hero would say his own name. "How do you think I got where I am today?"

* * *

Mike and Sulley tore across the campus towards the lecture building, Sulley still gulping down the last of the coffee.

"You feelin' good, Sulley?" Mike asked.

"I'm feelin' good, Mike!" Sulley answered.

"Remember, buddy," Mike said, trying not to laugh at Sulley's manic expression no doubt due to his first caffeine high, "one question at a time!"

The leapt up the steps and pushed through the doors, busting into the lecture hall.

"Iiiit's TEST TIME," Sulley yelled, punching the air.

Professor Knight was the only one in the room, looking at them sleepily from the front desk.

"Not for another ten minutes it's not," he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Now sit down and wait for the other students to arrive."

* * *

Not long later, the test was underway. Sulley was looking down at his page, no longer feeling the high from the caffeine but still feeling awake enough to think. He realized he hadn't written anything since the test began.

He glanced at Mike sitting beside him, who was scribbling down answers faster than Sulley thought he could read. He looked back at his own page and stared. The words seemed to melt and switch places with each other, and the whole front page swam in front of him.

Sulley closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He exhaled and tried to calm himself down.

'One question at a time,' he remembered. 'If you look at a bunch of questions all at once, you get all overwhelmed and crazy.'

He opened his eyes and looked at the first question on the page, and nothing else.

'What is the recommended technique for a child scared of wild animals but not lightning?'

Sulley had to suppress a giggle. 'Rainston Repeater,' he remembered himself saying, in the most ridiculous accent he could muster at the time.

* * *

An hour later, the lecture hall doors opened and Sulley stepped out into the sun. He looked to the sky and let out a triumphant roar that echoed across the whole campus.

"Shut up," somebody complained from one of the dormitory buildings, "it's nine in the morning!"

"Sorry!" Sulley yelled back, waving. Nothing could dampen his mood.

"Hello, my good friend," Mike mocked, arriving beside him.

"And hello MY good friend," Sulley replied in the same manner.

"So?" Mike asked. "How'd you think you did?"

"Pretty good, pretty good," Sulley answered in a mock-modest voice.

"Hehe, don't get too cocky though," Mike warned him, "the results don't get posted until after the weekend."

"You know what?" Sulley told him as they walked down the steps. "Honestly, I don't even care if I don't get that good a grade."

"What?" Mike asked. "But after all you did, how hard you worked!"

"I know, I know... but I did something thinkin' in there and I realized that... I tried my best in there. And really, I can't feel guilty about my best not being good enough."

"You're not worried about your family?"

"Hey, if I'm not good enough for them, that's not my problem."

"Well in a way, I guess that's... good?"

"Hah, I'm sure they don't REALLY care that much about how well I do, just as long as I don't get kicked out or anything.

"And hey, you know what?" Sulley added, stopping on the steps. "Thanks, Mike. For helpin' me out. I couldn't have done it without you."

Mike stopped and looked back up at his friend, smiling at him. As usual, he couldn't help but smile back. "Don't mention it, buddy," he said.

"And hey," he continued, "the end-of-semester exam's only a few months away! You wanna get a head start on that one tonight?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Sulley laughed, walking straight past Mike.

"Hey, that's the sort of thinking that'll land you a failing grade!" Mike called after him.

"I'm sure it'll be fine!" Sulley called back. Mike ran after him, continuing to warn him about the dangers of not studying, to which Sulley replied with nothing more than laughter and the reassurance that somehow, everything will turn out okay.

* * *

Several days later, Professor Knight ran one final check over each test he'd graded that weekend. He slid each test paper into his briefcase to be distributed later that day after checking he'd marked each one. He picked one up and eyed it carefully, to make sure he hadn't made a mistake.

"Well, then," he smiled to himself, looking at the '87%' he'd written. "Looks like you studied harder, Sullivan."

Knight then looked at the next one and rolled his eyes, seeing yet another 100% mark on a test paper belonging to Mike Wazowski.


End file.
